Скачать или смотреть How to check Accredited Certificates and Reports

With the number of certificates and reports that we deal with every day, it is sometimes difficult to check if a certificate is valid or not.
Certificates and reports relate to specific objects of conformity assessments. These can be, for example, products, processes, services, systems, materials, claims, persons and other types of objects that need an assessment of their conformity.
The bodies issuing these certificates and reports are called conformity assessment bodies.
Under the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA), these bodies are testing, calibration or medical laboratories, inspection bodies, proficiency testing providers or reference material producers.
Under the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) these bodies are management systems, products, processes and persons certification bodies, and validation & verification bodies.
Each of these organizations issues reports, certificates, statements or a combination of them to report the results of the conformity assessment activity.
Let us see now how these certificates, reports and statements are recognized worldwide:
Take the example of product conformity.
A toy manufacturer wants to produce and export a product that is enjoyed all over the world without having to set up multiple factories in each country.
Proving the conformity of its toys to the target market requirements may include a number of conformity assessment activities. For instance, product certification may be required to ensure the product meets specified requirements, often including regulatory standards.
Testing may be required as proof that the product meets certain safety and quality standards. This may include looking at the composition of the product, how the product behaves in certain conditions, such as impact testing, and more.
The product storage and shipments may also be required to undergo an inspection or multiple inspections at different stages of the manufacturing process, to ensure that there are no quality defects before reaching the consumer.
An audit of the production process may be required with a sampling of products from the factory.
Lastly, certain product certification schemes may require a management system audit to ensure that the business is complying with its own quality management system framework.
Once the product conformity is proved, a certificate of conformity or a report is provided to the manufacturer.
To prove its competence, the conformity assessment body is assessed at the national level by an accreditation body, which provides an accreditation certificate to the conformity assessment body.
The mutual recognition between accreditation body signatories is based on the same process being applied in a harmonised and equivalent way in economies around the world.
This way, under the umbrella of the ILAC and IAF arrangements, a report, certificate or statement delivered in one economy by an accredited conformity assessment body is trusted as equivalent in the other economies.
Now that you know how these certificates are issued and how they are recognized worldwide, let s see how you can check the authenticity and validity of these certificates and reports.
Firstly, it is important to know that accredited conformity assessment bodies are required to include specific information in their reports and certificates.
In addition to the conformity assessment body logo, usually the certificates and reports under the ILAC or IAF mutual recognition arrangements bear the ILAC MRA or IAF MLA mark combined with the accreditation body logo.
This information is specified in international standards like ISO/IEC 17025 for testing and calibration laboratories, ISO 15189 for medical laboratories, ISO/IEC 17020 for inspection, ISO/IEC 17065 for product certification and ISO/IEC 17021-1 for management system certification.
So examine the document to check whether the logos and the minimum required information are included in the report or certificate.
Secondly, you can confirm the validity of the certificate directly with the conformity assessment body.
To do that, you go first to the IAF website where you can search for the accreditation body mentioned in the document. You will find the link to the accreditation body website where you can check the information about the conformity assessment body. Then you can directly check on its website or get in touch with the conformity assessment body to validate the certificate.
Management system certificates can be checked in one step by using the IAF CertSearch global database of accredited certificates, where you can enter the name of the certified entity or the reference of the certificate to validate the authenticity of the certificate.
Intro (0:00)
Which types of reports and certificates are covered by mutual recognition? (0:30)
How are these reports and certificates recognized worldwide? (1:42)
How to check the validity of a certificate or a report? (3:52)